Existing electronic timing and scoring systems installed at a pool acquire times and scores of athletes using various timing and scoring components, such as touch pads, buttons, relay judging platforms, speakers, lights, judging terminals, and the like. These timing and scoring components are connected to an electronic control device through mechanisms such as connection hubs or cable harnesses to form the electronic timing and scoring system.
Typically, connector hubs and/or cable harnesses are situated on a pool deck and provide mating connections to connectors of the timing and scoring components. The connector hubs and harnesses are often repeatedly splashed with pool water due to being positioned in close proximity to a pool. Pool water contains aggressive chemicals such as chlorine, bromine, and other chemicals that are corrosive to materials, such as metals, that are used in electrical connectors. The corrosive effect of the pool water can be intensified by electrolysis when the pool water sits in a puddle on hubs or harnesses creating a bridge between the electrical connectors of one or several mating connections. Specifically, the signal voltage for the connected devices (typically 3.3 VDC or 5 VDC) creates a potential difference between the electrical contacts, which creates an electrolytic current through the slightly conductive water bridge between the electrical connectors. The electrolysis leads to faster corrosion of the electrical contacts.
In addition to gradually destructing the materials of the electrical connection, corrosion reduces a signal to noise ratio of the connection because the corroded electrical contacts add to the serial resistance in the signal path. Consequently, a signal may become unreadable by the control device in cases of strong corrosion such that the electrical contacts may need cleaning or replacement to resume operation. Frequent cleaning of the electrical contacts to counteract corrosion and maintain clean, well conducting surfaces, however, may render the long term effect of corrosion worse by abrading protective layers of the electrical contacts.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,602,815, issued to Stockinger et al. on Dec. 10, 2013, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, describes embodiments of connection hubs having a profile that allows water to flow off to reduce the effects of corrosion. Existing systems have used “banana plugs” to provide a large and robust connector system that can withstand some corrosion. Typically, the banana plugs include two terminals at a distance of 0.75 inch and are provided by the timing components. The connection hubs and harnesses provide the mating banana jacks. For example, a connection hub may provide connection jacks for push buttons, a touch pad, a start input, a relay judging platform signal, a start signal output for a visual start signal, and a speaker output. A cable harness may provide connection jacks for a touch pad input and a button input for each lane.
The male counterparts of the connectors are usually built as a metal stud having a spring member integrated around the stud to make durable, secure electrical contact within the female jack. The studs are typically steel or brass, with nickel and tin or gold plating, which are susceptible to corrosion. The springs are typically beryllium copper alloys with nickel and tin or gold plating. The spring forces urge the male stud into contact with the walls of the female jack when the stud is inserted into the jack. The force provided by the spring compensates for mechanical tolerances and abrasion over time.
Corrosion resistant materials, such as titanium, may have properties similar to stainless steel, which is hard and highly inflexible. For example, titanium is not as flexible as the beryllium copper alloys typically employed to create enduring springs with a large range of spring deflection. Consequently, it is may be difficult or undesirable to manufacture traditional spring contacts out of titanium alone.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.